Book 4: Chapter 63 (1/2)
“Your Excellency, everyone except for the pope has arrived,” Frederick III said, bowing his head at the ground. He was in Tafel’s room, which used to be his. He was holding a piece of paper with a list of names on it, extending it out towards Tafel.
“Why hasn’t the pope arrived?” Tafel asked. “I thought you said everyone got the message.”
“They have,” Frederick III said. A bead of sweat formed on his forehead, and he dabbed it away with a handkerchief, letting the list of names drop to his side when he realized Tafel wasn’t going to take it. “The pope even sent a message saying he’d be here, but something must’ve happened to him. One of the guests heard rumors about strange things brewing in the Papal States.”
“Oh?” Tafel raised an eyebrow. “What kind of rumors?”
“The peasants are staging a rebellion, and the higher echelons of the church are on the run.”
“Huh?” A weird expression formed on Tafel’s face. A peasant uprising, that couldn’t possibly be related to her, right? She pointed at her face. “My peasant rebellion?”
“No,” Frederick III said. “The Papal States are strictly controlled by the church. No one would preach about the upcoming apocalypse in there because they’d be stopped and apprehended, perhaps excommunicated for blasphemy. Not to mention, the Papal States are quite far from us, and your rebellion has barely spread out of Saxony. Father Müntzer might be good at convincing people to join your cause, but it’s clear he’s not a very good administrator. If it were up to me, I’d have fanned the flames of rebellion across the whole Holy Roman Empire by now.”
Tafel blinked. “Are you volunteering yourself?”
“I’m just an old man who can’t keep up with the changing times, but if Your Excellency will have me, I’ll gladly serve under you,” Frederick III said, lowering his head even further.
“You know, the rebellion’s about taking power away from people in positions of power like you, right?”
“Yes,” Frederick III said. “However, I do agree that the church has too much power and have been abusing it. It’s why I supported Martin Luther. I don’t agree that I’ve been abusing my position of power; however, with you leading this peasant uprising, it’s quite clear the peasants are going to win, so I may as well join the winning side instead of waiting to lose, no?”
Tafel scratched her head. “Well, in that case, sure.” She nodded. “You can help me establish a new rule.” She grabbed a nearby coat and donned it. “Take me to these rulers.”
Frederick III led Tafel out of the building, through the courtyard, and into a different building meant to host balls. It was large and spacious, and dozens of people were milling about inside. Hundreds of knights lined the walls of the building, wearing armor adorned with all kinds of different crests representing the lords they served. When Tafel entered the ballroom, an unnatural stillness spread out starting from the front and creeping towards the back. After a minute passed, it was completely silent. “Good afternoon, everyone,” Frederick III said, interrupting the silence. “Thank you all for coming; I’m sure you all must’ve been very busy.”